Scopes film wins merit award

A documentary about the Scopes Trial, filmed by staff members of a New Hampshire high school with the help of Bryan College and historian Edward Larson, has received an Award of Merit and a WOW Award from the American Association for State and Local History.

Staff members from Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow, N.H., traveled to Dayton, Tenn., in February 2008 to film interviews about the Scopes Trial and take images for their documentary. The project, titled "Theatre On Trial-Inherit the Wind and the 1925 Scopes Trial," compares the award-winning play with the historical record, and includes interviews with scientists, historians and Dayton residents.

The Award of Merit recognizes outstanding efforts to preserve and interpret state and local history, according to the AASLH. The association honored 59 individuals and organizations with Awards of Merit.

Four WOW Awards were presented. It is an additional recognition for an Award of Merit winner whose nomination is highly inspirational, exhibits exceptional scholarship, and is entrepreneurial in terms of funding, partnerships, or creative problem solving.